Football: Iceland shocks Norway

The weekend saw a healthy dose of Scandinavian drama in the football arena. Underdogs Iceland managed to take down neighbouring Norway 2-0 on Friday, stunning players and spectators alike at the World Cup Group E qualifier.

The victory came thanks to one goal each from Alfred Finnbogason and Kari Arnason. The first came 21 minutes into the match, when Kari Arnason capitalised on a throw-in after an error by goalkeeper Espen Bugge Petterse of Norway.

Norway fans were taken for a ride later on in the match as a goal by Joshua King was taken off the board as a result of an offside ruling.

Then came the goal by Alfred Finnbogason at the 80-minute mark after he managed to fend off an offside trap and make a clean shot that caught Bugge Petterse well off guard.

Moving on to face Slovenia, Norway coach Egil Olsen stressed that his squad must rebound quickly or could easily face elimination for the upcoming 2014 World Cup in Rio de Janeiro.

He added, “It’s true that we have [not] made it to any finals for a long time, but we’re probably the one country in Europe that has been closest on a regular basis. There are eight games left after this one, but everybody understands that it looks bad for us if we lose,” TheLocal.no reports.